A body was recovered from the ruins of a Verona-area house after it was destroyed by fire on Tuesday night, according to police.

The body was sent for an autopsy and identification.

Const. Richard Martin of the Frontenac Ontario Provincial Police said on Wednesday that their officers were first to arrive at the scene at about 8:10 p.m. When they arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames. Neighbours informed the officers that a man could possibly be inside the home.

Acting South Frontenac Fire and Rescue Chief Terry Gervais told the Whig-Standard on Wednesday afternoon that three stations and more than 30 firefighters responded to the structure fire around 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday at the end of Cedarwoods Lane.

“The first crews arrived and encountered heavy smoke coming from a building at that location,” Gervais said.

Gervais said fire crews attempted to enter the house but were pushed back by heavy smoke and fire, “at which time there was a decision to go to a defensive tack for safety.”

Fire crews were using tanker trucks and water from a nearby creek to supply water to fight the fire.

Gervais said it was a challenge to get trucks in and out of the scene due to an approximate 300-metre narrow laneway in and out of the property that allowed only one vehicle to use it at a time.

Gervais said firefighters were using a 245-metre hose from the creek to fight the blaze.

It took about 90 minutes to bring the fire under control.

“Crews remained on scene all night for hot spots,” Gervais said. “The structure had collapsed in, so there was still hot spots and fires burning under the collapsed areas.”

Other firefighters were brought in overnight to relieve the original crew, and the original crew returned to the scene Wednesday morning.

“Although the temperatures weren’t bad, it actually got really cold because it was damp last night,” Gervais said.

Crews left at about 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Gervais said, South Frontenac fire investigators were on scene with assistance from Kingston Fire and Rescue investgators as well as the Ontario Fire Marshal and the Ontario Provincial Police.

Neighbours told the Whig-Standard that only a single wall of the bungalow was left standing. There are about eight other homes on the laneway, all backing onto Hambly Lake.

Frontenac Paramedic Services also responded to the scene. Martin said that no OPP officers received injuries that required hospitalization.